Monday, 31 October 2005

Here’s another highlight from the aforementioned interview with Wolfhart Pannenberg. Pannenberg is asked: “What is your greatest concern for the church as it moves into the next 25 years?”

He replies: “My greatest concern for the church is that it continue to preach the Gospel and not adapt to secular standards and concerns. Some churches and many church ministers think they have to adapt to the secular concerns of people in order to reach them. I think that the opposite is true. If people were to hear in church only what they also get on television and read in the papers, there would be no need for going to church. The church has to proclaim a different thing: the hope for eternal life. It must proclaim participation with the crucified Christ through baptism by faith.”